According to a pair of witnesses, a dog slipped through a partially opened window in a Norwood building and was stuck on a second-floor window ledge for at least 20 minutes. Several passersby called 911 but said no emergency personnel ever made it to the scene. The dog was eventually rescued and is now believed to be back with its owner.

 

As reported by Norwood News, and according to Citizen App user, “paoladlc,” who posted a brief video clip of the scene on the app, on Thursday, July 22, at 7.26 p.m., residents and visitors passing by 3202 Kossuth Avenue, at the corner of East Mosholu Parkway North in Norwood, spotted the dog on the window ledge. (That video can be viewed in our previous story.)

 

The 40-second, video shows the dog at an estimated 25-feet above the sidewalk, remaining perfectly still as a man and woman on the street below hold out a blanket and try to encourage the dog to jump onto it. Thanks to the popular Citizen app, 1,500 area residents were notified of the incident, and the video was viewed more than 8,200 times. However, despite receiving over 650 emojis of support, well wishes and 46 comments, the dog’s fate remained unknown to the app users.

 

In a subsequent video obtained by Norwood News courtesy of another witness and resident of the area, an unidentified “Spiderman,” is seen using the window bars of the basement and first-floor apartments to reach the dog on the second floor. According to witnesses, he placed a leash around the dog’s neck and pulled it down to where it was apparently caught by the two people seen in the original video who had been holding the bed sheet. A second video, also obtained by Norwood News courtesy of a witness, shows bystanders apparently petting the same dog after the rescue.

 

On July 31, one of the witnesses who shot one of the videos and who asked not to be identified, recalled. “Yeah, the dog was up there. When we came out, it was on the second floor over there, and I also saw some guy who went up there and he put a leash on the dog, and he pulled it down and they caught him.” The witness added, “The dog was okay. She is fine.”

 

The witness continued, “The police didn’t want to help with her either. They didn’t come…like five people called them and nobody came.” The witness, a female child under the age of 18 who spoke to Norwood News with her mother’s permission, added, “I was waiting for people to come and rescue it. It took a while… like 20 minutes.” The identity of the wall-crawler who rescued the dog is still unknown.

 

The child witness added, “All I know is the dog was terrified, but once they got him on the ground, he was happy, and everybody was playing with him. The dog could have fallen and hurt himself. He could have died.”

 

A second witness, an adult female, who also asked not to be identified, recalled the moments before the initial video [the one posted to the Citizen App] was taken, saying, “The window was fully open and somebody tried to pull her in, but she wouldn’t go.”

 

The adult witness confirmed the dog was not hurt, adding, “He’s back with the owner now, yeah, I don’t know why. I wouldn’t have done that.” The witnesses said that once the dog was on the ground, residents called a woman whose number was on the dog’s collar, and the owner apparently sent a friend or cousin to pick the dog up.

 

Recalling the moment when the passerby climbed up to the dog, the adult witness recalled, “I was like, oh my God, this guy is going to die from the fall.” She added, “I was on the phone with 311 and they were like, ‘Let me see if I can get the police,’ and we called the police, and we called the fire department. They said it was our problem. We have to deal with it.”

 

The adult witness said that no police or fire units ever showed up, adding, “The people that were standing here, I don’t even know them… just passing through. I live here so when I saw that, I called 911 and they put me through to 311. The guy at 311 was actually more helpful than the other operator, but they didn’t send anybody.”

 

An unidentified man who was exiting the building on the same day as we spoke to the other witnesses, July 31, and who said he was a friend of the dog owner, told the Norwood News, “You see the window? It wasn’t open that much. He just crawled out. She’s good. I’ve seen her walking around.”

 

A source at the Animal Care Centers of New York City (ACC), located on East Fordham Road, later told the Norwood News, “If someone was to call, stating that this was an issue, because our field department is extremely short staffed, and is not able to run to a situation like that, we would have that person that called, to call 911 in order for them to help out.”

 

The staffer added, “Now if 911 isn’t able to help, then we would try our best to assist the situation, but it’s something that typically we would have the person call 911.” The ACC staffer said they were looking further into the incident.

 

Requests for comment were made with the NYPD and FDNY. We did not receive an immediate response. A photo from the Citizen’s App video was forwarded to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A representative replied, saying it was their understanding that the NYPD had responded to the incident.

 

Meanwhile, both resident witnesses said they never saw anyone walking the dog in the area before. According to the website, rover.com, most dogs should be walked between 30 minutes and two hours per day.

 

To report animal abuse or neglect, please call 311 or file a NYPD Crime Stoppers report online, or by calling 1-800-577-TIPS (1-800-577-8477). You also can file a complaint for ongoing animal abuse or neglect online (non-emergency response) through the City of New York’s NYC 311 website.